In a pre-specified subgroup analysis of the phase3b EXCEED trial, patients with psoriatic arthritis achieved higher responses with secukinumab compared with adalimumab in simultaneous improvement of joint and skin disease and in skin specific endpoints at week 52.
The phase 3 CREDO-1 trial showed that treatment with olokizumab over 24-weeks was associated with significant improvements in the signs, symptoms, and physical function of RA. The safety profile of olokizumab was consistent with previous phase 2 trials with this agent.
Results from the phase 4 CONTROL trial shows that adding adalimumab to the treatment regimen of methotrexate results in better outcomes than methotrexate dose escalation in patients with psoriatic arthritis who did not respond sufficiently to initial methotrexate therapy.
Treatment of rheumatoid arthritis patients with tumour necrosis factor (TNF) inhibitors shows a significantly lower risk of serious venous thromboembolism (VTE) events compared with conventional synthetic disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (csDMARDs).
In a phase 3 trial, patients with psoriatic arthritis who have an inadequate response to ≥1 non-bDMARD, showed improvement in musculoskeletal symptoms, psoriasis, physical function, pain, and fatigue and inhibited radiographic progression when treated with upadacitinib.
Results reveal that opioids are increasingly popular in treating pain connected with rheumatic and musculoskeletal diseases. Experts indicate that measures need to be taken to ensure a safe and sensible use of these analgesics.
Current data suggest patients with inflammatory rheumatic conditions do not exhibit an increased frequency of COVID-19 infection or a more severe course of disease. Risk factors such as older age, obesity, etc, seem more important.
Results were presented of a phase 2 trial for MK-6482, the small molecule inhibitor of hypoxia-inducible factor (HIF)-2a in von Hippel-Lindau disease (VHL)-associated renal cell carcinoma (RCC).
E2108 trial results showed that local therapy did not improve overall survival (OS) when compared with optimal systemic therapy alone. Added locoregional therapy also failed to improve 3-year progression-free survival (PFS).
Tiragolumab and atezolizumab showed improved objective response rate over tiragolumab and placebo in chemotherapy-naïve locally advanced or metastatic non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).
Addition of tremelimumab to frontline durvalumab and platinum-based chemotherapy did not demonstrate a significant improvement in overall survival in patients with extensive-stage small-cell lung cancer, missing the co-primary endpoint of the phase 3 CASPIAN study.
An initial report of patients with heavily pre-treated metastatic HER2-expressing colorectal cancer shows particularly efficacy with trastuzumab deruxtecan in patients with high HER2-positivity.
In-depth tumor molecular characterization of children and adolescents who have relapsed after initial therapy, and for whom there are no established treatment concepts available, can offer diagnostic insight and potential novel therapeutic approaches.
The phase 3 KEYNOTE-604 trial showed that patients with extensive-stage small-cell lung cancer who received pembrolizumab with etoposide/platinum, compared with patients who received EP and placebo, did not benefit from improved overall survival.
A retrospective cohort study of patients presenting with cardiotoxicity after treatment with fluoropyrimidines suggests that switching to S-1 (i.e. a combination of tegafur, gimeracil, and oteracil, at a molar ratio of 1:0.4:1) is safe for these patients and supports treatment continuation.
The final overall survival (OS) results for 3 major trials in non-metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (nmCRPC) were presented: the ARAMIS (darolutamide versus placebo), SPARTAN (apalutamide versus placebo) and PROSPER (enzalutamide versus placebo) trials.
The first phase 3 study of pembrolizumab versus standard-of-care demonstrated superiority for first-line pembrolizumab in patients with high microsatellite instability (MSI-H) metastatic colorectal cancer.
Older age, poor performance status, and progressing cancer were strongly associated with increased mortality, especially within patient subsets admitted to the ICU and/or that required intubation.
In a global registry, 428 thoracic cancer patients infected with COVID-19 have been followed up, and the data are concerning. 169 have recovered, 119 have ongoing COVID-19 infection, but 141 have died.
At a 3-years median follow-up, the randomized, phase 3 EORTC 1325/KEYNOTE-054 trial demonstrated that adjuvant pembrolizumab taken for up to 1 year in high-risk stage III melanoma patients improved recurrence-free survival (RFS), with a consistent effect across subgroups.